Nepal’s youth kickstart green enterprising solutions

On 20 November 2016, top twelve green ideas competed against each other at the final award gala of the Greenovation Startup Challenge. Four outstanding green business ideas namely Ground Apple, Tyre Treasure, Sishnu, Chepang Ra Paryatan and Wood Gas Stove were awarded with a seed amount of Rs 150,000 each to start their ventures.

WWF Nepal in collaboration with Nepal Entrepreneurs’ Hub (NEHUB) kicked off GSC on 13 September 2016 and within a period of two months, 55 shorlisted participants out of the 160 applicants were mentored to build a common understanding of entrepreneurship and green enterprise principles which would help them turn their green business ideas into reality. 50 initial pitches were made and shortlisted to the final twelve through a voting system involving the participants themselves. The twelve ideas and their corresponding group underwent an intense 54-hour Startup Residential Weekend Marathon Session from 17-19 November in preparation for the final pitches at the award gala.

“The Generation Green campaign is about appreciating and motivating young ideas towards sustainable solutions for the environment while inculcating leadership skills in Nepal’s young generation,” stated Anil Manandhar, Country Representative of WWF Nepal. “The Greenovation Startup Challenge is our maiden undertaking with young people using green entrepreneurship as a platform to engage more individuals in our broader mission to build harmony between people and nature.”

“This was a unique challenge we took up as a team and in collaboration with WWF Nepal. The startup culture is emerging in the tech ecosystem, but merging this with the green ecosystem gave us a good platform for green solutions for Nepal and young green entrepreneurs”, stated Hempal Shrestha, Co-Founder of Nepal Entrepreneurs’ Hub.